Sri Lankan stocks end lower on profit-taking

The increase in excise duty on diesel which dragged on Lanka
OIC also pulled down the index, brokers said.

Sri Lanka's finance ministry on Friday said it had increased
the excise duty on diesel by 10 rupees with effect from Aug. 20,
but there will not be any price increase in diesel at pumps.
.

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Shares in Lanka IOC ended down 2.12 percent on
Monday. They fell 10.58 percent during Friday' session after
news of the excise duty hike.

The benchmark Colombo stock index ended 0.16 percent
down at 6,540.19, its lowest close since Aug. 12. It hit its
highest close since May 20 on Tuesday.

The bourse fell 0.78 percent last week, recording its first
weekly fall in four weeks.

"We are experiencing a bit of profit-taking," said Dimantha
Mathew, head of research at First Capital Equities (Pvt) Ltd.

"But the overall investor sentiment is improving
continuously with investors bullish on the construction sector
as the government is announcing new expressway constructions and
other development projects."

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Foreign investors bought a net 212.8 million rupees ($1.46
million) worth of shares on Monday, extending the net foreign
inflow so far this month to 939.3 million rupees worth of
equities, but have been net sellers of 3.71 billion rupees worth
of shares so far this year.

Turnover stood at 889.9 million rupees, more than this
year's daily average of 753.4 million rupees.